Wet/dry tank type vacuum cleaners are known which are mainly in use in commercial and industrial establishments. These vacuum cleaners are designed to pick up a relatively large amount of liquid by means of a vacuum. However, the dumping of the dirty liquid with its accumulated dirt and debris poses a problem since, in some cases, the cover of the cleaner must be removed and the tank manually lifted and tilted on a sink or basin in order to dump the liquid solution. In other cases, the wet/dry vacuum cleaner is provided with an arrangement for evacuating the liquid solution by means of a separate pump, which is more costly to produce and requires additional maintenance.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tank type wet/dry vacuum cleaner which is capable of vacuuming dirt laden solutions and pumping the same out of the intake hose.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tank type wet/dry vacuum cleaner having a built-in valving system for permitting the cleaner to operate in either a suction mode or a dump mode.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tank type wet/dry vacuum cleaner which is capable of vacuuming dirt and debris as well as liquids and pumping the same out of the intake hose which utilizes a built-in valving system to switch from suction mode to dump mode.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a deflector and flapper valve assembly adjacent to the intake pipe of the wet/dry vacuum cleaner which functions to permit the vacuum cleaner to be changed from suction mode to dump mode and vice versa.
A further feature of the present invention is to provide a tank type wet/dry vacuum cleaner in which the dumping volume is controlled by the operator.